A view from Brussels: Will staying the course be worth it?

Having the luxury of choice is not always a blessing. I like this theory that if someone has too many options to choose from, they become paralyzed and making a decision feels like an impossible task. As I prepare this digest, I find myself listing all the possible topics I could discuss to give my "view from Brussels."

The state of negotiations of the EU Digital Omnibus, the Cloud and AI Development Act, and the Cybersecurity Act all highlighting that digital governance professionals will have work to do — and not because things are getting simpler.

The newly proposed procurement rules with which Brussels wants to simplify the current rules and enshrine a European preference.

What that all says about the state of simplification.

The countless headlines about former engineers-turned-whistleblowers and the recent speech by U.N. Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk, all warning us that "AI could pose an existential risk to humanity."

The conversation on smart glasses and, more important, where can it possibly be efficient from a fundamental rights and governance perspective.

Rather than picking one topic at random, I am reflecting on what that snapshot says about the current tides in the European capital.

It confirms that the EU machinery is a cruise ship, not a speed boat. Its agility — or willingness — to adapt is all relative. Many of the legislative proposals I mention were seeds planted many moons ago, well before "Draghi report" became the hit words. This raises a legitimate question of how much influence EU political leadership truly has over the course of action of its own internal machinery.

In the bigger scheme of things, Brussels is not dramatically changing its trajectory nor its ethos. To many, this is symptomatic of Brussels' inability to drive meaningful modernization into the European rule system. Against a promise of a better, more fair, innovative and competitive Europe, there is a good amount of criticism one could lay on the bureaucracy and enduring complexity it continues to create in our community's daily work, often paired with the question "does it actually make things better?"

And then I go back to Türk's speech and his somber account of the state of the world: "We live in an age of extremes. Raging wars, painful polarization, climate chaos, and head-spinning technological change make people feel disoriented and even powerless."

Setting a healthy distance for perspective between these various issues, when we collectively look back ten, five, maybe even one year from now, we might find ourselves mostly grateful that Europe stays the course and continues to conduct itself on the world stage with human-centric values leading above all else.